Top 5 Digital Marketing Blogs That Every Blogger Should Be Reading

Digital marketing is changing the landscape of business as we know it. Ten years ago companies weren’t investing millions of dollars in blogs, social media, SEO, and content marketing. Additionally, entrepreneurs weren’t building multimillion dollar ventures from their laptops.

Fast forward to 2016. We’re now seeing Fortune 500 companies with massive digital marketing budgets, new online startups are emerging daily, and there’s substantial job growth in marketing departments due to the rise of digital marketing.

Times are changing, and at light-speed I might add. It can seem somewhat daunting to try and stay up to date with everything that’s been happening. But as a blogger, it’s imperative to retain a thirst for knowledge and immerse yourself in topics related to digital marketing.

That’s where this post comes in. The following list of blogs are some of the most revered and sought after pieces of content when it comes to digital marketing. If you’re serious about blogging, then you should definitely subscribe to these digital marketing blogs.

1. HubSpot

When it comes to inbound marketing, HubSpot is the world’s authority on the topic. The company was founded by Dharmesh Shah and Brian Hallgan, two MIT graduate students, and their mission was simple, to transform the way businesses market and sell to their customers.

The HubSpot Marketing Blog is an extension of the company’s mission. It’s filled with 40+ categories of high-quality content that dive into the specifics of inbound marketing. Regardless of whether you’re new to blogging, or a seasoned vet, the HubSpot blog is a resource that every digital marketer should be utilizing.

I should also mention that, if you’re looking to take your inbound skills to the next level, HubSpot offers free online certification courses. These comprehensive courses are great resume builders, and they’ll add credibility to any blogger’s credentials.

2. Moz

Founded as an SEO consulting company by Rand Fishkin in 2004, Moz has grown to be one of the top SEO companies in the world. Due to this, “The Moz Blog” is probably the most respected and utilized SEO resource out there.

The Moz Blog touches on various digital marketing subjects, but their bread and butter is SEO. Their contributors are definitely subject matter experts and are extremely knowledgeable when it comes to SEO. However, I think their description of themselves is spot on:

“The industry’s top wizards, doctors, and other experts offer their best advice, research, how-to’s, and insights—all in the name of helping you level-up your SEO and online marketing skills.”

Moz also offers a ton of free resources to help you during your journey towards becoming an SEO guru. For example, the Beginner’s Guide to SEO is an online tutorial written by Rand Fiskn himself, and it’s a great way to get your feet wet with SEO. Moz also offers free online courses, webinars, and digital resources that will enhance your understanding of SEO as well.

3. Kissmetrics

The Kissmetrics Blog is arguably the industry leader when it comes to data driven marketing content. Their blog offers analytics, marketing and testing insights that help guide digital marketers in their decision-making and growth. This blog really is an analytics overhaul.

As a blogger, the content Kissmetrics provides is extremely valuable and actionable. Having the ability to track, analyze, and understand your blog’s traffic is imperative to long-term success, and Kissmetrics helps you understand how to analyze that data. Additionally, they always back their findings with data driven research and metrics that fully support their advice.

Kissmetrics offers some great resources as well. While you’re at their blog be sure to check out the free infographics, marketing guides, and webinars. These free tools are built to help you track, analyze and optimize your digital marketing efforts.

4. Social Media Examiner

It’s easy to get bogged down with social media nowadays. It seems like every other week there’s a new social media outlet that pop’s up as the next big thing. Not to mention, the ongoing effort of jockeying for position on FaceBook, Twitter, and Instagram. It can weigh on anyone trying to build and grow their blog’s audience.

Enter the Social Media Examiner. This blog is basically the encyclopedia of social media. Branded as the world’s largest social media marketing resource, the Social Media Examiner helps bloggers get the most out of their social media by providing case studies, expert interviews, industry leading research, reviews and updates on the latest social media networks.

The Social Media Examiner really is more than just a blog, it’s a community. If you ever get a chance, I recommend attending their Social Media Marketing World Conference to get a sense of what I mean when I say “community”. This event never disappoints, and it’s always filled with some stellar panelists. It’s just a great way to connect and network with your peers and social media pros.

5. Content Marketing Institute

The Content Marketing Institute, also known as CMI, is by far the place to go whenever it comes to learning how to leverage content marketing for your blog or business. Founded by Joe Pulizzi, the godfather of content marketing, CMI has become a leader in educating, training, and consulting people and businesses on what content marketing is and how to implement it.

If you’re unfamiliar with content marketing, then a great place to start would be CMI’s “Getting Started” page. Here you’ll learn the history of content marketing, what content marketing is, and how to get started with their “Back to Basics” series. This series is filled with step-by-step tutorials and templates that help you set up a strong foundation for your content marketing program.

On top of CMI’s educational features, they also offer a great podcast and digital magazine. Both are free to subscribe to and offer a ton of valuable content. The magazine, titled the Chief Content Officer (CCO), is available in both print and digital editions, and showcases how content marketers are finding success in the field. The CCO frequently shares processes that other marketers use and strives to help other individuals learn new publishing skills.

Final Thoughts

As a blogger, you should start to see that digital marketing is a key component to your blog’s success. With that being said, these five digital marketing blogs are great resources that will help you stay up to date with everything that’s happening in the industry and then some.

Each one of these recommended blogs focuses on a specific category that is essential to your digital marketing strategy. HubSpot targets inbound marketing, Moz spotlights SEO, Kissmetrics examines analytics, the Social Media Examiner dissect social media, and the Content Marketing Institute delves into content marketing.

Finally, the free webinars, trainings, ebooks, and certifications that these blogs offer could easily be sold for thousands of dollars. Yet, they’re all free to use and offer a ton of great value. Just another reason why you should be subscribing to these blogs. At the end of the day, these five blogs are great for keeping up with the on-going and rapidly-changing digital marketing industry.

Remember, in digital marketing, if you stop learning, you die. Period. So rest assured that these blogs will quench your thirst for knowledge and keep you alive and well in the jungle of digital marketing.

Written by Ben Cummings

Founder of blogwithben.com

Ben is a Digital Marketing and CMS Specialist for Bridgepoint Education who holds an MBA with a specialization in Entrepreneurship. He enjoys teaching, blogging, startups, a hoppy IPA, and college basketball. Whenever he’s not blogging, you can find him cruising around sunny San Diego with his amazing family.